“Restoration is not just about planting trees or about making an area look beautiful again. It's about recreating a social ecological system that is more resilient and is more aligned with natural processes.” -Robin Chazdon

This episode features legendary ecologist Robin Chazdon with hosts Armando Davila, Patrick Leung, & Pedro Ribeiro Piffer for an adventure through the world of assisted natural regeneration. Robin discusses active versus passive regeneration, how to increase the capacity of local communities to lead restoration, and the importance of honoring traditional knowledge. Robin then paints a vision of a fair trade carbon market, discusses biodiversity monitoring, and explores the challenges of involving corporations in restoration projects. This rich conversation ends on an inspirational note as Robin skillfully describes how we are all interconnected with each other and the natural world.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• How Robin started her journey as an ecologist and how her work has evolved over her career

• Her current projects including the UN’s Best Practices Task Force

• An overview of assisted natural regeneration

• Active regeneration vs. passive regeneration

• How to support farmers in regenerating their land

• Robin’s view on monoculture plantations

• How to decide which restoration approach to use

• The important social considerations of restoration projects

• How to increase the capacity of local communities to lead restoration

• The importance of honoring local and traditional knowledge

• Robin’s vision of a fair trade carbon market

• Biodiversity monitoring as a way to measure the effects of restoration projects

• The dangers of viewing nature as a corporate asset

• The importance of channeling funds through ground-based mechanisms

• What it will take for corporations to change their practices towards greater sustainability

• The importance of recognizing that we are all in this together

• How our humanity is dependent on our relationship with the natural world

• The importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration & infiltrating the corporate sector

RELEVANT LINKS:

Earthshot Labs: www.earthshot.eco

Robin’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-chazdon-96218a59/ 

Intro & Outro Music by Little Whale: https://littlewhale.bandcamp.com